Music Stars Who Blew Up After Turning 25
These artists took their time getting to the spotlight.
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Music Stars Who Blew Up After Turning 25 - Today, as he turns 38, Rick Ross is one of the biggest rappers in the game. He didn’t get there overnight, though. Not only did it take Rozay a few albums to jockey his way into the upper echelon of artists, but also, he was already a grown man when he dropped his debut, Port of Miami, at age 30. But the Bawse isn’t the only one to blow up after the age of 25. Artists like Eminem and Macy Gray found their spotlight in their mid-20s. Read on to see who else.(Photos from left to right: Bennett Raglin/BET/Getty Images for BET, Christopher Polk/Getty Images, Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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Rick Ross - Rick Ross's immense popularity is a bit of a surprise for a number of reasons. Not only did it take multiple albums for the Bawse to earn the critical acclaim and fanbase that he now boasts, but he also was 30 years old when he dropped his debut, Port of Miami.(Photo: Chris McKay/WireImage)
Photo By Chris McKay/WireImage/Getty Images
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Jay Z - There are many reasons that Jay Z's debut album, Reasonable Doubt, is viewed as a classic. Included among them is the fact that Hov had a wealth life experience to draw from, since he dropped the disc at the age of 26.(Photo: Ron Smits/London Ent/Splash News)
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Kanye West - Kanye West isn't hesitant to tell you that the odds were against him to make it as a rapper. As he was coming up, making his mark as a producer, it was hard for him to get taken seriously by peers and execs. When he finally did get a chance to leave his mark as a rapper — dropping his debut album, The College Dropout, at 26 — what we got was the first of numerous classics.(Photo: Ronin 47 / Splash News)
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50 Cent - After a false start earlier in his career following a signing to Columbia Records in 1999, 50 Cent came back with a vengeance in 2003. With the backing of Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, Fif dropped his seminal debut, Get Rich or Die Tryin', at the age of 27.(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Nicki Minaj - Like many MCs before her, Nicki Minaj earned her stripes by releasing mixtapes early in her career. When Lil Wayne took notice of the up-and-comer he signed her to Young Money, her career took off and she dropped her debut album, Pink Friday, just weeks shy of her 28th birthday.(Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Clear Channel)
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Jeezy - After spending his early years trapping, Jeezy aligned with Def Jam to bring his street sound to the masses. At 27, he dropped his debut album, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101.(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BET)
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Macklemore - Despite building a bit of a fanbase in Seattle and online in his early- and mid-20s, Macklemore and his career slowed down as he became addicted to lean. After returning with an EP and some touring, he dropped his debut album, The Heist, (along with producer Ryan Lewis) at the age of 30.(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
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Erykah Badu - Erykah Badu took the musical world by storm with her 1997 debut, Baduizm. She was just weeks shy of her 26th birthday when she dropped the project, which would go on to win Best R&B Album at the Grammys. (Photo: Michael Conti/San Jose Mercury News/MCT/Landov)
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Macy Gray - Though she was signed to Atlantic Records earlier in the decade, Macy Gray didn’t release her debut album until 1999, when she was newly aligned with Epic Records. The album, On How Life Is, which spawned hits like "I Try," came out just a few months shy of her 30th birthday.(Photo: Kevin Winter/ImageDirect.)
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